Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).

Review #920: Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Cast:
Kevin McCarthy (Dr. Miles Bennell), Dana Wynter (Becky Driscoll), Larry Gates (Dr. Dan Kauffman), King Donovan (Jack Belicec), Carolyn Jones (Theodora "Teddy" Belicec), Jean Willes (Nurse Sally Withers), Ralph Dumke (Police Chief Nick Grivett), Virginia Christine (Wilma Lentz), and Tom Fadden (Uncle Ira Lentz) Directed by Don Siegel (#893 - Dirty Harry)

Review:
What is it about science fiction that entertains us so much? What is it about horror and and aliens that lure us so much to watch? The 1950s definitely had a great deal of entertainment with these things, but this film (based of the novel "The Body Snatcher" by Jack Finney) manages to shine on its own, becoming a film worth discussing in part because of how it constructs himself. Even if one treats it as just a horror flick (as what the director and writers have stated they were intending), It's an interesting horror film in how it invokes fear and fright from how little you really see of the terror. The film also has decent cinematography by Ellsworth Fredericks, with the shadows and lighting working nicely with the sets. McCarthy is a good lead, fitting as a storyteller and hero like a glove. Wynter is also pretty decent, having some chemistry with McCarthy while also proving to be capable for some scenes. Donovan and Jones do a pretty fine job as well in accompanying the others in a movie that always seems doing something beneath the surface. Nobody is killed on screen, nor is there much in terms of what the pod people are (aside from a part near the climax), but it has a great degree of layers within this thriller. Numerous things have been written about it being an allegory for things in the 1950s (this was the Cold War era after all), but the easiest one can be the way that people can act towards cultural things with a sense of unfeeling. While the nature of how the narrative is set up may be a bit clunky (in short, it's a flashback narrative), the movie is at least swift enough to never cop itself out too much. There is something really interesting about the way it speaks about conformity and autonomy in this film, and it doesn't bash you over the head with any sort of overwrought kind of nature. On the whole, this is an entertaining film that inspires fear along with thought in part due to a fine cast and fine direction that work together to make a critical film from the 1950s.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Review #871: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Cast:
Elizabeth Taylor (Margaret "Maggie/Maggie the Cat" Pollitt), Paul Newman (Brick Pollitt), Burl Ives (Harvey "Big Daddy" Pollitt), Judith Anderson (Ida "Big Mama" Pollitt), Jack Carson (Cooper "Gooper" Pollitt), Madeleine Sherwood (Mae Flynn "Sister Woman" Pollit), and Larry Gates (Dr. Baugh) Directed by Richard Brooks

Review:
Can't say I expected to do this one (based off the play of the same name by Tennessee Williams, who already had his play A Streetcar Named Desire adapted into a film earlier in the decade), but sometimes college and this show mesh together (as opposed to being on different ends). At best, it is an alright movie, up to the standard of films of the time, though it isn't likely one of my favorites. Taylor and Newman certainly have fine chemistry together (even in scenes not so pleasant), with a fair amount of screen time dedicated to the two. It takes time to get interesting (with the plot and all, especially with lengthy scenes setting up the main characters), but the climax is fairly serviceable. The big highlight (and where it gets fun) is Burl Ives, who practically steals the show after he appears midway through. His insults are edged entertainingly, but he's not completely without some sort of humanity, and he does well to contribute the climax. The rest of the cast do an adequate job in their roles, having some sort of arc that works. The sets are also pretty fine, and the movie flows well at about 100 minutes. If you're looking for a fairly adequate adaptation of a play, I think this will work for you, as opposed to Williams, who reportedly told people waiting to see it that "This movie will set the industry back 50 years. Go home!" Regardless, while I don't think I'll watch it in the near future again, I think it is at least fine as its own thing. It has enough drama and atmosphere to work just neatly enough.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: In the Heat of the Night.

Review #544: In the Heat of the Night.

Cast
Sidney Poitier (Virgil Tibbs), Rod Steiger (Bill Gillespie), Warren Oates (Sam Wood), Lee Grant (Leslie Colbert), Larry Gates (Eric Endicott), James Patterson (Lloyd Purdy), William Schallert (Webb Schubert), Beah Richards (Mama Caleba/Mrs. Bellamy), Peter Whitney (George Courtney), Kermit Murdock (H.E. Henderson), Larry D. Mann (Watkins), Quentin Dean (Delores Purdy), and Anthony James (Ralph Henshaw) Directed by Norman Jewison (#127 - Rollerball and #273 - The Cincinnati Kid)

Review

The movie has two notable moments, a quote: "They call me MISTER Tibbs" (Which would also be used as the title for the sequel), and when Tibbs slaps Endicott back, eliciting shock. The movie has other brilliant moments as well, such as when Steiger and Poitier share a scene inside Steiger's character's house, which turns from the two drinking to them talking about loneliness, which is a poignant scene just for the two and their interactions in that and their other scenes in the movie. The actors are good, especially Poitier and Steiger. They have a good deal of tension in their performances, and the supporting cast is fitting for a film with tension like this. The last scenes may end the movie maybe too quick, but the movie still has tension, and a good deal of entertainment value to it. In the Heat of the Night is such an influential film when it all boils down to it, and this is a really slick but classic film.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.